It was a drop of two per cent on the previous year, and the lowest annual number since 2004.

Simon Kempton, the federation’s operational policing and drugs lead, said: “It is no coincidence that we have lost nearly 22,000 police officers since 2010 – it’s a simple fact that you just can’t do more with less. Along with a pinch on resources against a background of austerity, drugs squads have been disbanded, and those that are still operational are having to multi-task and focus on other things as well.”

A Home Office spokeswoman said: “Drugs can devastate lives, ruin families and damage communities. The Government is taking this seriously and is committed – through three key strategies backed by millions of pounds of funding – to tackling the illicit drug trade, protecting the most vulnerable and helping those with a drug dependency to recover and turn their lives around.”